"I do not particularly enjoy most of Shakespeare's tragedies, no," Elizabeth admitted as she took a sip of her dinner wine. "Take Romeo and Juliet. Firstly, they were far too young for marriage; Juliet is but thirteen years of age! That idiotic friar had no right to marry such a young couple, especially given that the parents would have disapproved mightily. Secondly, the catastrophe at the end of the play is entirely due to foolish mix ups and lack of communication. It feels so contrived!"
"But surely Shakespeare's plays are not meant to be treated as realistic," Darcy argued, putting down his fork and turning toward her. "The Tempest, for example, is not a depiction of normal life in any way."
"Oh, The Tempest is fantastical, yes," Elizabeth agreed, "but Romeo and Juliet does not include magic or sorcerers or strange spirits. It is a play about a man and a woman, or rather, a boy and a girl, who marry, whose respective families are caught up in a long feud. It is a reasonable plot, but then to have servants failing to bring messages, and Romeo engaging in more than one fight to the death, and both main characters killing themselves! I know it is a tragedy, but I find the entire series of events to be ill-conceived and aggravating."
Darcy looked at her with fond admiration. Romeo and Juliet was a famous play, and members of the aristocracy and gentry made a point of lauding it, even when most had probably never read it. It was a rare woman indeed who would openly criticize the most popular playwright of the day.
Elizabeth took a bite of ham, chewed, swallowed, and then continued, "I do enjoy Macbeth, however. For one thing, with the presence of the witches, the play becomes somewhat outlandish. I also like the character of Lady Macbeth."
"Like her, Miss Elizabeth?" Richard asked from the other side.
"Oh, I do not like her as a person, no. I mean that I find her a fascinating individual. As wife to Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, she already had high social standing and wealth. She could not find joy and contentment in her situation and was inspired by ambition to act treacherously by forcing Macbeth to murder his lord. In the end, it cost her both reason and life."
"Out, damned spot; out, I say," Darcy quoted. "One, two, – why, then 'tis time to do't. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?"
"That is a powerful scene," Jane Bennet said rather unexpectedly. "Elizabeth and I saw it at the Royal Opera House two years ago in company with our Aunt and Uncle Gardiner."
"Did Sarah Siddons play the part of Lady Macbeth?" Darcy asked curiously.
"Yes," Elizabeth said, "and she was magnificent, especially in the sleepwalking scene you just quoted."
"I am not a fanciful person," Jane said, "but I too was greatly affected."
"You are fortunate," Georgiana commented with rounded eyes. "I would love to see her!"
"My dear Georgiana, perhaps we can make a special trip to The Royal Opera House while you are in London," Colonel Fitzwilliam suggested.
"Oh, Brother, could we?" Georgiana asked, peering at Darcy eagerly.
"I believe that can be arranged," Darcy said.
"We had best make those arrangements soon," Richard added. "I have heard that Mrs. Siddons's health is failing and she will not be able to act for much longer."
"We will, then," Darcy assured his sister. "I have not been to the Opera House since it was rebuilt several years ago after that terrible fire; I understand it is a most magnificent structure."
Mrs. Bennet, who had been eating steadily and silently through a large portion of roast pheasant, chose this moment to turn the conversation in a direction she found far more interesting.
"Miss de Bourgh," she asked Anne eagerly, "is it true that the glazing of the windows at Rosings cost Sir Lewis eight hundred pounds?"
Anne nodded and said solemnly, "Yes, Mrs. Bennet, and you will be pleased to hear that the parsonage is positioned such that it is possible to observe the eastern most chimneys of Rosings from its back windows. The chimneys were rebuilt in the last decade and cost more than a thousand pounds."
"Oh!" Mrs. Bennet returned in thrilled accents. "Oh, I am so happy for Mary that she will be living within a short distance of such a great estate! I never thought she would marry so well!"
Darcy, observing the looks of mortification on the faces of Jane and Elizabeth, said quickly, "Rosings is indeed a very fine mansion, Mrs. Bennet. Anne, I have forgotten, how big are the formal gardens?"
Anne's eyes twinkled in response to this, but she answered sensibly enough, and soon the conversation shifted to wildernesses and gardens, and thence to picnics, and Elizabeth relaxed, hopeful that her mother would not humiliate her daughters again.
/
"Oh Jane, I am so happy that I want to cry! To think of you being mistress of Netherfield! I will say, my dear, that the mistress's chambers are rather outdated. You ought to freshen them up..."
Elizabeth allowed her mother's words to wash over her as the carriage carried them back home as she struggled to retain her composure. Mr. Darcy was not to marry Anne de Bourgh. Was there any possibility at all that the master of Pemberley was attracted to her? They had sat next to one another at dinner and had conversed at length about a variety of subjects, and she had been startled at how easy Darcy had seemed in the company of not only Jane and Elizabeth, but Mrs. Bennet and Mary as well.
"Mary, my dear," Mrs. Bennet said, shifting her attention to her third daughter, "perhaps you can invite Kitty and Lydia to visit you in Hunsford next spring; Lady Catherine must have single gentlemen at her table on occasion. You owe to your sisters to give them every opportunity to find a husband!"
Mary, who had been gazing blankly at the floor, started at this suggestion. "Perhaps I could invite them, yes," she said hesitantly, her expression unhappy, "but of course I would need to ask Mr. Collins."
"Oh, I am certain Mr. Collins would be delighted to host your dear sisters, Mary! He is such a kind, generous man!"
Elizabeth, observing Mary's downcast expression, felt a surge of guilt. She had been so distressed over Wickham's attack, and worried about the inquest, that she had not thought enough about Mary. Did her younger sister truly wish to wed Mr. Collins, who was a complete fool? Even if she did, she ought not have to cope with both an idiot of a husband, a dragon of a patroness, and her two silly younger sisters.
Now that Jane was to be well married, there was far less urgency for one of the Bennet daughters to marry the heir of Longbourn. Elizabeth was determined to find some time alone with Mary and urge her not to sacrifice herself if she did not wish to marry Mr. Collins. But not tonight; Elizabeth was still tired from the worries and difficulties of the last week, and all she wanted was her bed.
/
"I think Darcy is in love with Miss Elizabeth," Anne declared.
Georgiana, who was wrapped in a warm shawl in her private sitting room, grinned at her cousin and said, "I entirely agree with you, and I think they will do very well together."
"We must do everything possible to encourage them, then," the heiress of Rosings declared.
/
"How does a gentleman woo a lady?" Darcy asked abruptly.
The three gentlemen had repaired to the billiards room where Bingley and Fitzwilliam were locked in a fierce battle involving balls and cues. Darcy, with his left arm still recovering from the stabbing, was seated on a chair staring distractedly out at the moonlit night.
Bingley, surprised by the question, miscued and the white ball caromed off the side of the table uselessly.
"Dash it, Darcy!" Bingley exclaimed and then, as the question penetrated his mind, turned and asked in astonishment. "What was that?"
"Oh, Bingley, I apologize for spoiling your shot. Richard, you must let Bingley try again."
"Never mind the game, Darcy. What did you ask?"
"I asked how a gentleman woos a lady."
Charles Bingley stared at his friend incredulously. "That is an extraordinary question from you, Darcy. Why do you wish to know how to woo a lady?"
Darcy hesitated, tempted to tell Bingley the truth, that he had fallen in love with Miss Elizabeth Bennet. A moment later, reason asserted itself. It was not fair to Bingley for Darcy to share his heart; it would involve Jane Bennet as well, and Darcy did not care to distract the couple from their own upcoming marriage.
"My cousin Anne and I are not to be married," he said. "I need to find another lady to be my bride."
Bingley cast his eyes heavenward and snorted. "I do not think you need bother go to any great effort. There are few ladies in the kingdom who would not eagerly accept a proposal from Darcy of Pemberley."
Darcy plowed on doggedly. "The problem is that I do not wish to wed a woman based on fortune and connections. I want to find a wife who truly loves me and whom I love, even as Miss Bennet loves you as much as you adore her."
"So you believe Jane does love me?"
"It is obvious that she does, very much," Darcy admitted. "I was entirely wrong about her feelings toward you. I apologize for thinking that I understood her heart."
"You are forgiven," Bingley said with a casual wave of his hand. "But back to your question; it is quite easy to show your interest to a lady, Darcy."
"Not for me, I am afraid."
"That is true," Richard Fitzwilliam mused, who was now resetting the cue ball on the table so that Bingley could retake the shot. "Darcy is such a great, tall fellow, and his expression is often distant and haughty. My apologies, Cousin; I am merely describing the situation as I see it."
"No, you are right," Darcy admitted.
"The problem," Richard continued, "is that you have been discouraging ladies for so many years that your natural expression is a forbidding one. Now that you and Anne have sensibly realized you will not marry, and you have seen a wonderful example of true love, you need to alter your manners towards women. I am certain you can help, Bingley; I have rarely met such a convivial gentleman."
"Thank you, Colonel, that is kind of you. I would say that your personality is more like my own than Darcy's, so no doubt you have suggestions as well?"
Richard grimaced a little and shook his head. "In truth, I too have been discouraging ladies for some years, though more elegantly than Darcy has. As a colonel in His Majesty's Regulars, I have been disinclined to marry, as there is a reasonable chance I will die or be gravely hurt on the battlefields of Europe. I also am not nearly as eligible as Darcy is; while I am an earl's son, I am not my father's heir and have little in the way of money or lands to attract a lady. No, Bingley, do help my poor cousin. He is in dire need of your assistance!"
Bingley and Darcy laughed at this, and the former nodded. "Well then, yes, I can give you some suggestions, my friend. But come, let us set aside this billiards game, which I was losing, and gather near the fire for brandy and advice, shall we not?"